Leading transformation requires leaders at all levels to reflect on the past and use experience to make decisions and develop strategies for achieving competitive advantage. According to a recent study transformational CEOs have a higher than average “Past” orientation to time. This indicates the importance of experience, may well motivate them to learn from experience and provides the experience base with which they can use to make decisions about the present or future. In addition, transformational CEOs have a focus on the future score that is significantly higher than the standard comparison group. The combination of using the past and future perspectives means that these leaders are motivated to learn from the past and use that knowledge to inform the development of strategies for the future.
Transformational CEOs in our study all used four systematic methods to facilitate continuous learning and improvement: (a) strategic management; (b) organization assessment using the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence; (c) benchmarking and comparisons; and (d) continuous improvement methods. All four approaches involved assessment of processes and performance and the results associated with organization changes. In other words, they all learned from performance "trends" which provided feedback on the effectiveness of previous changes. These learning methods combined with a systems thinking approach enabled leaders to develop sustainable business strategies.
Results may not always reflect the performance that we had hoped for but they always provide an opportunity for learning. Later in his life, Dr. W. Edwards Deming changed Plan Do "Check" Act to Plan Do "Study" Act to better reflect the intent of the process improvement step of examining the results and learning from them to inform future actions. Unfortunately many organizations and leaders are very good to Plan Do, Plan Do, Plan Do...and they often do not take the time to study the results, learn from them and adjust future actions based on those learnings. Creating and sustaining high performance requires a disciplined approach of learning from the past and creating the desired future based on reflection and learning.
Read the Institute Report on Baldrige CEO Attitudes and Motivations.
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